Auto-ID techniques in the fight against product piracy (counterfeiting) around the world

An increasing problem today is the counterfeiting of products and goods. Counterfeit products result in lower company profits and can destroy brand reputation as customers pay the normal price for an inferior product - without knowing that it is a counterfeit product. In addition, counterfeit food and medicines can have serious health consequences for consumers. Food or medication is mixed or blended with inferior ingredients. Often the pharmaceuticals counterfeited around the world do not even contain the therapeutic ingredient. In order to counteract the introduction of counterfeits into the supply chain, there are regulations regarding traceability for medicines and also for food.

Automatic identification and data capture (Auto-ID)

The term automatic identification and data capture or automatic identification (Auto-ID) stands for techniques for identification, data capture, data collection and data transmission. These include technologies such as barcodes, smart labels, biometrics, mobile data capture, OCR, RFID systems, speech recognition, various chip card versions and information carriers based on optical free-space data transmission (optical radio links). Their areas of application include trade, transport, logistics, security, business data, pharmaceuticals and much more.

(I) Identification

Auto-ID technology is used to automatically identify objects. For clear recognition, certain features are used for identification, which are referred to as identifiers, such as the scanner cash register in the supermarket, which reads the code on the individual products.

(D) Data collection

Barcodes can be used both to transport data and to identify objects. The coded information is read in by machine in order to connect the IT systems with the physical world. Compared to manual entry, automatic data capture is practically error-free with a significantly higher transmission rate.

data collection

The collected data is now stored and processed. The automatically collected data sets are summarized and converted to other data formats.

Data transmission

When data is transferred, the information is saved. The subsequent interpretation on the recipient side is guaranteed by specifying common data types with defined data fields and sizes. Barcodes and transponders, like letters and numbers on paper for humans, are a medium on which messages can be stored and transmitted in a machine-friendly manner. This ensures communication between the sender of the message, who applies the data carrier, and the receiver, the reading station. For logistical areas of application, there are auto-ID processes that work on the basis of optical radio links.

How can auto-ID techniques be useful in the fight against counterfeiting?

Auto-ID techniques such as barcodes and RFID systems can be used for tracking and thus protect against the introduction of counterfeit products. The Universal Product Code (UPC), which can be found on many packages, is easy to copy and replicate. The introduction of a unique identifier on each individual packaging can counteract this problem. Companies often hand the traceability of products into the hands of consumers and use the QR code, for example.

While barcodes are a technology that is read, RFID “listens”

Items that have an RFID tag can be scanned and read by imagers. RFID technology can be an extremely powerful solution to combat counterfeiting because tags are not easy to replicate or difficult to remove from packaging. The integration of RFID is a cost-effective option and a further advantage in terms of implementation thanks to the precise readability using appropriate barcode scanners. Nowadays, many companies use RFID technology to protect their products from counterfeiting, which significantly reduces the security risk. Some areas within a supply chain do not yet have RFID scanners. In order to be optimally protected there, you can attach labels with a barcode and an RFID tag that carry a unique item identifier.

RFID technology

RFID stands for Radio Frequency Identification and is a process that reads and stores data without directly seeing or touching it. So-called transponders are used for this. Theoretically, they can be attached to any object. RFID is just the generic term for the entire technical infrastructure.

An RFID system includes:

• the RFID transponder (chip),
• the transmitting/receiving unit (reader) and
• the IT system operating in the background, such as cash register or merchandise management systems.

Radio frequency identification (RFID) makes it possible to record, track and control the flow of goods contactlessly via radio. RFID is a technology that is already used in many companies from a wide range of industries. RFID is also a very secure solution and has proven to be an efficient weapon against theft. The challenge for the broad mass market is to combine a high level of security with cost-effective RFID tags, the data carriers that carry information about the actual origin of the product. The data is transmitted between a reading device and the chip using electromagnetic waves. Depending on the version, an RFID chip can store different amounts of data. Depending on the frequency range, transmission strength and location-dependent environmental influences, data can be read from a distance of a few centimeters to several meters.